Gaza’s Health Ministry said Sunday that at least 14 Palestinians were killed by Israeli attacks in the previous 24-hour period as Israel has ramped up its bombings amid its ongoing breach of the ceasefire deal reached in January.
The ministry said the total number of bodies that were brought to Gaza hospitals was 29, including 15 that were dug out of the rubble. Israeli attacks also wounded 51 Palestinians.
An Israeli strike on Saturday in northern Gaza’s Beit Lahia targeted aid workers, killing nine people. According to CNN, the Al-Khair Foundation, a charity based in the UK, said the strike killed eight charity workers.
The charity’s founder said among the victims were “our team members, including volunteers, some of them were cameramen… and some of them were journalists.” The Israeli military claimed it targeted six “terrorists” but offered no evidence.
The Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that Israeli strikes on Gaza continued on Sunday, killing at least one Palestinian man in central Gaza. The report said two Palestinians were killed by Israeli attacks in the same area the night before.
The Beit Lahia bombing on Saturday marked the single deadliest Israeli attack since the ceasefire deal was reached. But Israeli gunfire and drone strikes continued to hit Palestinians throughout the truce, killing more than 150 since it took effect on January 19.
Israel has also violated the ceasefire deal by refusing to engage in talks on the second phase, which would have involved a full Israeli withdrawal and a commitment to a permanent ceasefire. Since March 2, Israel has imposed a total blockade on all goods entering Gaza, another ceasefire violation.
Israel is using the collective punishment of the civilian population of Gaza to pressure Hamas to release more hostages without a full implementation of the original ceasefire agreement.
